Floppy ears - Page 2

Well Hodie,

I learned from personal experience when my 100% well bred lab got a hold of my 100% well bred GSD, and she had
11 pure black 1/2 lab 1/2 GSD's that to this day have floppy ears, and resemble a labrador retriever more than a 
GSD.

When people get puppies or dogs from the pound, the people that work there seem to always say something
is half lab or half GSD, and the people getting the pup go along with that info.

      >>MOM<<

>>DAD<<<

An older kid>>>(What am I?)

My friend had an oops litter by a  weimariner  out of a GSD bitch.  Some of the pups ears stood, some didn't, some had double coats like a GSD, some had short tight coats like weimariners.  The pups definetly looked blended, but there were some traits specific to each breed that not all the puppies ended up with.  I'm not a breeder, I don't have enough of an understanding of genetics to breed, but if soft ears are genetic then doesn't it depend on which genes each particular pup ends up with as to whether or not the ears will stand?

sueincc,

 Did your friend have the litter DNA'ed?

 Did they match up with the parents DNA?

 I had mine DNA'ed and they matched up to their parents.

They own two dogs one weim one gsd.  I saw the tie.  The bitch doesn't get out & no one else got in.  This is over 5 years ago.  They kept one of the pups.   It's not uncommon for the ears to stand, even with mixed pups.

I have done history and research on ears and like most genetic topics it is one to gain your own beliefs....this dog I got was not one of my own...the people could not handle her drive and so instead of her being destroyed I took her.....I should add her ears are not floppy like say a Retriever...the flop only at the middle so do have a slight stand and I think that is the norm for floppy eared GSd's...at least the ones I have seen...it is almost like they start to go up and then just don't have the cartilage to stay firm enough......when she is moving forward one will stand...could be wind of course......I have also heard ears can get broken...especially from young children playing with the ears as puppies and then they just can not re grow good cartilage and has nothing to do with genetics.

I would like to see more honest breeders come forward and say if they have seen floppy ears in their line and try and trace it to what line or section of dogs that carry it and conclude if it is indeed genetics or not.....I am on the fence as I have breed the same dogs before and then after several litters have one puppy all of a sudden say have alot of white on a foot....genetics most would say, but why now after so many litters, just an example of course, and of course it can skip a generation perhaps and like most genetics it may never rear it's head. To me both would have to carry that genetic seeing straight ears are normal and natural as that is what the wolf carries..... unlike floppy ears...that is just not normal but is the standard in most breeds.

Going back to the white on feet...I see a pic of a young puppy posted on here with four very white feet...that surprises me and it find it vary rare to see that in a GSD...mush like floppy ears......it's just so hard to tell what you would get....I have known breeders to put all puppies down that even had a spek of white on them....so saying it is gentic they may as well put the parents down too....they are going to keep throwing it in their puppies.....wouldn't you think? Some imperfections you have to eliminate....but if we believe that all breeds are derieved from another then at some point something that, that other breed or mutt had, in order to make that breed, even the GSD, then it will come out some where....look at the first dog that was used to get the GSD...it had semi floopy ears....so I would imagen it will always be in the line and come out now and then...if in deed it is gentic. Same with coat color, coat type, personality ect. Same with what a dog can produce...just because you have to ScHh dogs does not mean every puppy will be able to achieve that as well.....not so much gentics but how you raise and train yoru dog...I think some buyers believe that is a gentic factor.....there is never any guarantee it won't happen....we as breeders should only guarantee IF it does, like displasia, we will cover it.

I would be inclined to see if tapping or gluing would work...she is young and maybe just had a poor start...the folks that gave her to me only had her a few months....you really never know the history....besides her ears she looks nice, very active and high prey drive.......but no training. Horrible that a dog that age does not know to come when called....never a bad dog I say, always a bad owner.

Flopped ears are genetic, except in the case of an injury to the ear. It has to do with the interior structure of the cartilidge. Dogs with flopped ears have varying amounts of control in the ears; some dogs can perk their ears up like a normal GSD, others cannot. While it is possible to get a dogs ears to stand surgically after an injury, the ears never quite look normal again. I don't know about surgery to get a dog's ears to stand if they've always been flopped over.

At 14 months I would fear that the support tissue within the ear, even if it might've been correctable via tape / glue / bracing, etc when she was younger, has been permanently crinkled to fold at that one point -- and despite intervetion probably will not be correctable as the ears have been allows to flop for so long.

Some dogs with flopped ears have the muscle control and strength of ear-structure to perk their ears for short periods of time or in cases of extreme interest in something. If she can do this, there might be a slim window of oppertunity, but if her ears are have always been flopped and she can't perk them up, I would not become overly optimistic